Although there is still plenty to play for in the remaining two months across every major domestic league in Europe, players and managers alike would be forgiven for having one eye on the upcoming European Championship in France.
The former still have time to put themselves in the picture for selection for their respective national team, with their fingers firmly crossed that that remain injury-free and do not have their hopes of participating at a major international tournament dashed.
Euro 2016 will be the first in competition history to feature twenty-four teams instead of the traditional sixteen, with the increase in numbers not only providing more football for fans across the world to savour, but also provides more countries with a chance of glory. Albania and Wales are among those to have capitalised on the opportunity to reach their first every European Championship, but while they are not at the top of the Euro 2016 betting list on Bookies.com, there are a number of teams who are worth keeping an eye on as potential winners and have the quality to set the tournament alight.
France
France will be hoping that history repeats itself, as it will be eighteen years since they last hosted a major international tournament which they went on to win thanks to two Zinedine Zidane goals and one from Emmanuel Petit to see of Brazil in the Final at the Stade de France. Didier Deschamps, who lifted the World Cup trophy aloft as captain that night, now has the opportunity to repeat the feat as manager of a national team who have gone through a rough patch in recent years, particularly at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where several bust-ups and a distinct lack of discipline saw them crash out at the group stages without recording a single victory.
They have come through the dark days and now boast an impressive array of top quality players who have the ability to make a real impact at Euro 2016 and put France firmly in contention as serious contenders to repeat the feat of 1998 in their own back yard. Karim Benzema’s suspension following allegations of blackmail may leave Deschamps without a world class striker, but in Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane, Hugo Lloris and Anthony Martial he has quality at both ends of the pitch that could lead Les Bleus to glory in front of their partisan fans.
Belgium
International football is prospering from a number of countries who are emerging via a golden generation and impetus on producing top quality players, with Belgium providing the perfect example for other nations to follow. Marc Wilmots continues to be the benefactor of having an array of talented players to choose from, and although the conveyor belt continues to produce even more potential at youth level, their current senior squad should certainly be considered among the darkhorses to win Euro 2016.
Reaching the Quarter Finals of the 2014 World Cup is a sign of the progress that they have made in recent years, and although their tournament was ended by eventual runners-up Argentina, there is growing expectation that Belgium can go further in France this summer. Bookies.com is the place to go to see which teams are playing and when, especially for those who back Belgium as they will have to show their true quality to get out of Group E which has put them up against Italy, Sweden and Ireland. Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany and Romelu Lukaku will play a pivotal role in how Belgium fare this summer, but while the talent is unquestionably prominent, it remains to be seen if they have the application to meet, or even exceed, growing expectations.
Portugal
It would not be a major European tournament if Portugal were not considered amongst the contenders to be victorious, and while they possess one of the best players on the planet in Cristiano Ronaldo, they have often fallen short. Portugal do, however, boast an impressive record in the European Championship over the years; although they have only qualified for six tournaments since 1960 (the first being in 1984), they have reached at least the Quarter Finals in all of them, with the agonising 1-0 to Greece in the Final of Euro 2004 in their own country providing pain and anguish to a nation that have always boasted top quality players.
Ronaldo’s presence is arguably why they are amongst the darkhorses in the latest Euro 2016 betting odds, althought while Joao Moutinho and Pepe certainly add more quality in other departments, Portugal do have a number of highly promising players, such as William Carvalho, Ruben Neves and Andre Gomes who could make a real impact this summer.